ECF Game 1 Celtics vs Pistons Tues May 20 8:30PM

I think the reason that I'm not so stressed out is that I finally feel like we are up against a formidable foe who doesn't have the 1 superstar model. Losing to Miami and Cleveland was torture.

But against Boston, we are evenly matched and our players are playing their hardest. It's not like we forgot to turn the switch on last night. We just got beat. I can accept that.

We need to win 1 out of 4 on the road + our home games. It's just like men's tennis. Federer doesn't get all bummed out when he fails to break Nadal's serve. He just thinks to himself that he only needs to break it once per set.

Boston earned the right to not have to win on the road. We were all in agreement that we didn't want to burn out our starters chasing them all season long. So here we are. One good game can erase 82 games of Boston's quest for HCA.

You are right in a lot of your points Cloudwalker, but I am thinking this should have been posted if or when we are ousted...

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If I did that then it wouldn't be called a prediction.

If Dumars was able to wait until all was certain .... being a GM wouldn't require any skill.

I've been pushing for a shakeup for years. I'm all for supporting the team; however, when the Pistons keep trying to make a cake out of catpoo I'm going to call it the catpoo it is. There's no way I'm gonna eat it, no matter how much of a fan I am.

One thing I for got mention was media hype. With the Celtics going thru two seven games series a lot us got caught up in the they will be tired-we can steal game one syndrome.

We may not have been prepared for their energy level and will need to exert more ourselves by trying to win it in the first half and not trying to wait until the end to turn it on. Let them play catch-up in the second half by delivering the knockout in the first. (10-12 pt haltime lead should be enough)

This game was close , but clearly they won the battle of Garnett oever Sheed and Rondo over Billups. Rip and Allen cancelled each other out and as did Dice and Perkins. (Dyess had the points and Perk had the boards and the scowl)

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If this continues to happen, we are screwed b/c we all know Flip won't hand over Billup's min to Stuckey when it counts.

Also to Ernie's point, closing out quarters is the sign of a good team. It was mentioned as a troubling thing in the ORL series, but we got away with it. Won't happen here.

Jackie MacMullen finally learned what some of us already knew...the Pistons don't attack the basket. Bill Plaske indicated that only 16 of the 66 Pistons shots were inside 10 ft. The rest were outside. Well how many of us besides me and The Low and a few others say that the Pistons offense is reluctant to "go to the paint" (oh by the way Celtics won the battle of the paint 44-22....and the game)

Jackie said that she spoke with some of the Celtics after the game and the Cavs played them much tougher defensively than the Pistons did last night...no wonder KG, Pierce and Rondo were able to hit so many jumpers with ease. Even Ray Allen was open, he just couldn't see the hoop.

We got to be more aggessive on both ends of the court (in the paint) and we can grab game 2...and please take care of the ball...

Jackie MacMullen finally learned what some of us aleady know...the Pistons don't attack the basket. Bill Plaske indicated that only 16 of the 66 Pistons shots were inside 10 ft. The rest were outside. Well how many of us besides me and The Low and a few others say that the Pistons offense is reluctant to "go the paint" (oh by the way Celtics won the battle of the paint 44-22....and the game)

Jackie said that she spoke with some of the Celtics after the game and the Cavs played them much tougher defensively than the Pistons did last night...no wonder KG, Pierce and Rondo were able to hit so many jumpers with ease. Even Ray Allen was open, he just couldn't see the hoop.

We got to be more aggessive on both ends of the court (in the paint) and we can grab game 2...and please take of the ball...

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I think it's always been obvious that the Cav's are a better defensive team than us, at least to me anyway. Nonetheless, this is got to be the single most depressing thing i've heard.

We are soft.

edited to add;

Defense is not just contesting, but pushing ppl out of their sweet spots, becoming their shadow; hounding them; fighting them, doing the early work of preventing the easy pass. We don't do any of that really.

I watched those Bos/ Cleveland games and the Cavs were playing some of the hardest defense I've seen. It rivaled the '04 Pistons. Cleveland could have won the series, so they are no chumps.

So, the new Cavs (w/ Ben) and the Celtics are probably #1 and #2 defensively in the NBA, and we are arguably #3. That is still pretty good considering our multipronged offensive capabilities.

Forcing the ball into the paint against Boston might not work. It might result in a bunch of ugly misses, blocked shots, and turnovers. They are good on the interior and we have a bunch of jump shooting bigs and non-traditional guards. Stuckey is our best hope of getting inside and I thought he was doing a pretty good job of it.

Sheed can beat up on average defenders in the post, but he's not going to school KG. He hit 2 face up J's in a row against Perkins, but it didn't look easy and it wasn't repeatable after that. Dyess has abandoned his post moves this year.

We need to get establish the outside first to open up the driving lanes. For that, we definitely need Chauncey to be dangerous.

I watched those Bos/ Cleveland games and the Cavs were playing some of the hardest defense I've seen. It rivaled the '04 Pistons. Cleveland could have won the series, so they are no chumps.

So, the new Cavs (w/ Ben) and the Celtics are probably #1 and #2 defensively in the NBA, and we are arguably #3. That is still pretty good considering our multipronged offensive capabilities.

Forcing the ball into the paint against Boston might not work. It might result in a bunch of ugly misses, blocked shots, and turnovers. They are good on the interior and we have a bunch of jump shooting bigs and non-traditional guards. Stuckey is our best hope of getting inside and I thought he was doing a pretty good job of it.

Sheed can beat up on average defenders in the post, but he's not going to school KG. He hit 2 face up J's in a row against Perkins, but it didn't look easy and it wasn't repeatable after that. Dyess has abandoned his post moves this year.

We need to get establish the outside first to open up the driving lanes. For that, we definitely need Chauncey to be dangerous.

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Unfortuanately for us, our multi-pronged offense doesn't work against good defense.

Also, Max needs to start. He struggles off the bench, and Dice is useless defensively if he plays this much.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

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AMEN.

If the starters keep F'ing up TAKE THEM OFF THE FLOOR. Yes, playing the bench DOES solve the problems of the starters if the starters CONTINUE to F it up out there.

Half the problem with getting the starters to listen to you is to PROVE TO THEM that you're serious about it, by pulling them out of games when they are helping you LOSE. I'll happily take a slightly less talented player who will do A) what we need to have done on the floor and B) what he's told over players who never have to be held accountable by a lame coach because they are "starters." Besides, they have no accountability because they KNOW hands down they will never get pulled out of a game.

Yes the bench solves the problems having to do with the starters because they WON'T BE ON THE FLOOR.

You can't fault DET not being 100% ready to play last night. They know no better. They would fold up the tents if they had played a game 7 two days earlier.

To me, BOS is always going to score easier buckets than Detroit. When BOS makes a move on offense the entire Piston D has to move to compensate. Boston has no such worries. Tay may be able to score on Pierce, but he has to score on Pierce. There is no plan B when you give him the ball. This goes for any Piston.

BOS wasn't even pressuring the ball or trapping CB last night and they still couldn't get in their offense. Doesn't DET have one of the top PG in the L?

You can't fault DET not being 100% ready to play last night. They know no better. They would fold up the tents if they had played a game 7 two days earlier.

To me, BOS is always going to score easier buckets than Detroit. When BOS makes a move on offense the entire Piston D has to move to compensate. Boston has no such worries. Tay may be able to score on Pierce, but he has to score on Pierce. There is no plan B when you give him the ball. This goes for any Piston.

BOS wasn't even pressuring the ball or trapping CB last night and they still couldn't get in their offense. Doesn't DET have one of the top PG in the L?

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Do we even run plays?

I'm serious. It doesn't seem like do. It's like we have 2 plays and those are always covered so we just wing it. It's a little disturbing actually.

Hate to say that, I think they will return to Detroit 0-2, grip a home game and the series will be finished at game 5 on the road. Disappointed yes, upset not at all, because it has been written on the wall since early the season when youngs were casually played which revealed that Flip didn't think his is responsible to develop youngs. Whether the youngs will be playing in remain 4 games is no more important because they've already proven. Since we have some young guns and Flip won't be with the team no more next season, believe me, the Pistons are still fun to watch albeit the window opening is getting narrow. Go Pistons.